Part One - Installing the basic Cygwin system

Download this file (http://www.cygwin.com/setup.exe), and save it as C:\Cygwin\Setup\setup.exe

Make a shortcut on your desktop to point at the Cygwin Setup program, C:\Cygwin\Setup\setup.exe

Run Cygwin Setup (C:\Cygwin\Setup\setup.exe)

Accept all the other default settings by clicking on "Next", but make sure it installs in C:\Cygwin

At one stage ("Choose Download Site(s)") it will ask you which source to use, choose a computer in Europe as it should be quicker.

Run the new "Cygwin" icon that will be added to your desktop and start menu.

After a small wait, this should bring up a black window with some text in it. Try typing some basic Unix commands to confirm it is working.

e.g. Typing "ls -l -a" and enter should list a few files.

The "ls" Unix command is short for list, and shows you the files in the current directory. The -a means show all files (even the hidden ones) and the -l means long format (shows extra details like file size). In Windows/DOS the equivalent is "dir".